This is the political landscape in Malaysia today. Not two months
ago, misogynistic remarks were hurled at DAP candidate Dyana
Sofya, with instances as egregious as our Home Minister
discouraging support for her on the grounds that she’s “not that pretty [in real
life]”. Without a doubt, we are not living in some utopian
post-feminist fantasy. The reality is that the barriers are still
firmly in place, and male chauvinism is working tirelessly to
ensure it stays that way.

As a feminist, this is disheartening. For those of us who are
tired of this treatment, who no longer wish to be treated as
afterthoughts in a field as important as politics, we turn to
feminism. Feminism is ostensibly about gender equality. The
shattering of the political glass ceiling therefore seems like a
reasonable feminist goal. However, some remain sceptical of this
– not whether women should be represented in politics, but
whether representation actually contributes to feminism as a
movement. I will be looking at both sides of the issue.

Women in Politics

It has generally been made a goal that women should have more
representation in politics. There are feminist coalitions that
exist purely to propel the advancement of women in politics.
Policies and recommended quotas are also set for some countries.
The UN has continuously guided countries through resolutions and
conferences to record the percentage of women in leadership
positions. The results aren’t startling,
but when you take into consideration that women are half of our
population, there is no logical reason why they shouldn’t be
equally represented.

When women are active in politics, they are more likely to use
this access to address gender-specific issues such as women’s
health, reproductive rights, child care and etc. When men control
the discussion on women’s issues, their lack of understanding and
experience could derail the conversation altogether and set their
women constituents several steps back.

Having women in politics will also set a domino effect where they
are in a position to influence the younger generation. The
barriers faced by women politicians are many. The political glass
ceiling is merely one of the final hurdles she has to go through
because before this, her education and upbringing play a big role
in encouraging her towards careers away from male-dominated
fields like politics. According to this study of 18-25
year old Americans, the political ambitions of these young
people are deeply divided according to gender. With women paving
the way for other women, young girls with unsupported hopes and
dreams can get the inspiration to be proactive.

Women have a voice, and it’s so often shut down by people in
power who are trying to maintain the status quo. How can women
actually break through those barriers, though? US politician
Hillary Clinton said, “[women] have to step up, you have
to dare to compete.” Perhaps she did not intend to allude
that the only thing standing in the way of women was our lack of
courage. Or perhaps she was only addressing a specific group of
women?

Women in Politics and Feminism

“Feminism is not a monolith” is something you hear a lot; it
means that even amongst feminists, we have our disagreements.
However, it seems that most agree that gender equality in
politics would be a step in the right direction. We will have
power at the top, and ultimately, it will translate to empower
those at the bottom, right?

Feminism is supposed to be an ideology that addresses women as a
class. It seeks to empower women, yes, but it can be more
succinctly defined as a theory of political, economic, and social
equality for women. With more women calling the shots at the top,
the likelihood of gender-salient issues being addressed is
higher. Yet what has happened so far in democratic countries is
merely the continuous reinforcement of class divide. Poor women
won’t have access to the same resources and opportunities as the
elite and highly educated, so they are not represented as a
group. How can we have gender equality, when there are fractures
regarding what it means to be a woman?

The solution may sound as simple as, “Why don’t the elected
female politicians just address the issues of disenfranchised
women?” The answer is, however, complicated, but I believe it is
best described by a simple term: neoliberalism. It is believed that a developed
country will be able to provide more for its citizens, thus we
come close to equating a government's interests with a nation's
economic interests.

But at what cost? The biggest victims of neoliberal ideology are
the working class. Working class women with their additional
domestic duties seem to carry the burden of the world on their
shoulders. And who is addressing the plight of these women? The
elected female politicians?

Politics is a boys club. For centuries, it has left its mark as
an oppressive structure. Women who wish to join and lean in to
politics are choosing to get a taste of the power previously only
reserved for men, but so few seek to actively reform this
structure, to destroy the idea of power completely or, in effect,
to flatten hierarchies.

There must be struggle for the political, economic, and social
emancipation of women, working in tandem. I don’t think barring
women access from political space is at all a rational course of
action. However, further steps have to be taken to reform not
just politics, but economical and social hierarchies as well.